


At a Crossroads

by KillerQueen80



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-05-29
Packaged: 2017-12-13 07:23:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/821575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillerQueen80/pseuds/KillerQueen80
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt: Kurt visiting Mercedes in LA</p>
            </blockquote>





	At a Crossroads

Written for this prompt: Kurt visiting Mercedes in LA

It was Mercedes who suggested it, and Kurt’s not one to turn down the offer of a vacation. He’s never been to LA, and even though he’d have to buy an actual ton of sunblock, he was looking forward to laying around the beach with one of his best friends in the world. Reuniting before Nationals had only made it clear to them how much they’d missed each other, and they’d promised to be better at keeping in touch with each other. 

  


Since she’d lost her record deal, Mercedes had a lot more free time on her hands, and with his father’s cancer being in remission, Kurt felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he wanted to celebrate it. NYADA only had a couple more weeks of classes left and when that was through he would head to LA. Part of the point of the visit was to help Mercedes decide what her next move would be. She had a few more months on her lease, and the question was move back to Lima, and join Finn and Puck at Lima U, stay in LA and hit the club scene, or, and this was Kurt, Rachel and Santana’s ecstatic suggestion, move to New York and hit the club scene there? 

  


Kurt could relate to the feeling of being at a crossroads, feeling like you’d failed at your dreams and being forced to find a new one, or a new way to achieve the old ones. He was in this exact place last summer, and he’d had his Dad and Blaine to help him deal with it. Kurt remembers though, that he hadn’t exactly been open to spending time with anyone else, and even though she says she understands, Kurt had shut Mercedes out completely, it was too painful to be around her and Rachel after their dreams had come true and his had not.

  
  
He planned to make up for that with this trip, because even though Mercedes knows her Mom is still selling her album every Sunday at church and her brother is selling them out of the trunk of his car down in Atlanta where he’s going to school, once she goes back to LA, she’s alone. 

  


So Kurt begs his Dad to pay for his ticket to LA, agreeing to fly out from New Jersey since it’s cheaper. He also promises to come straight from LA to Ohio to spend some time with his family before going back to New York.  Isabelle was kind enough to give all of the interns some time off for the summer and Kurt plans to use it well. He’s looking forward to summer in a way that he wasn’t before, though he’s still not quite sure what do think or feel about that. 

  


He and Mercedes agreed that they would go to Nationals, since he arrives in LA the day before, but it’s strictly as spectators. It made Kurt nervous, being in LA at the same time as Blaine, but he knows Blaine will probably use this time to visit his brother, so Kurt’s not worried about seeing him outside of Nationals related activities. With everyone in town, it’s a given they’ll wind up  hanging out, but this trip is about Mercedes, and he’s going to make her his priority while he’s here. 

  


************************************

When Kurt gets off the plane, he’s glad happy to see that she’s waiting for him at the gate, because it turns out that LAX is a bit of a maze, and he knows he would have gotten lost by himself. 

They hit the infamous LA traffic on the freeway from the airport to Mercedes’ apartment. Kurt looks out the window and sees a mall to his left and another to his right.

  


“Two malls this close together, really? How do you have any money? I would be living in a cardboard box downtown,” Kurt asks, amused.

  


“Well, that one isn’t really a mall, there’s a Nordstrom Rack, and a Game Stop, but mostly it’s restaurants, a movie theater and glow in the dark mini golf. That mall though on the other side? I practically live there. They have a Torrid, a HUGE Forever 21, and an H&M, no more driving two hours to get all the good stores.”

  


“I don't’ know about that, with this traffic, I don’t see the difference between sitting in this parking lot of a freeway, or driving to Columbus, it seems like it would take the same amount of time. How do you put up with this?” Kurt starts getting impatient and he’s not the one driving.

  


“You get used to it, usually, I would be thinking over songs in my head, or listening to music for inspiration. Plus, not all of us have road rage like yours. Remember driving to Carmel? You made a lady cry,” Mercedes laughs, as she turns on her blinker and looks over to switch lanes.

  


“Well, she should have been paying attention to where she was going, she nearly killed us! And you may not have road rage, but you act like you can pray the traffic away. Don’t think I never heard you, all “Lord get us home”. What was that gonna do? Even if I believed in God, I think he’s too busy healing babies or whatever to come drive your car,” Kurt laughs.

  


“You are crazy. Road rage or not, you’re still a better driver than Rachel.” 

  


“Thank God, she chose New York, she did us all a favor, let’s hope she never drives again.” 

  


They arrived at Mercedes’ apartment 40 minutes later, and Kurt is pleasantly surprised by her neighborhood. Considering the fact that she lived alone and paid half of what he was paying, he expected her to live in as bad of an area as he did with Rachel and Santana. He definitely wasn’t expecting the pool in the middle of the building, or the size of her place, she even had walls, even if one of them was a half wall between her bed and a sitting area. 

  


“Okay, I’m sorry, but it took us 40 minutes to drive 3 miles, you’re telling me that’s easier than driving to Columbus?” He says, dragging his suitcase into her apartment. 

  


“It’s not always like that, you’re the one who’s flight came in during rush hour.” 

  


“Yeah, yeah, let me look at this place,” Kurt says looking around. He recognizes a few bits and pieces from Mercedes’ room back in Ohio, the corkboard filled with pictures of their friends, but the love seat and TV in the sitting area are new.

  


“Okay, I love this place. It’s so cute, very you, but you’re insane if you think I can squeeze these legs onto that love seat to sleep,” Kurt points at the love seat with an eyebrow raised, Mercedes smacks his shoulder.

  


“Relax, you’re sharing a bed with me and you know it.” 

  


“What, no beautiful beach bum boyfriend?” 

  


“You know better than that. But, since you mention boyfriends, you and I got some talking to do, now that we’re alone.” 

  


“Yeah, no. I’m going to take a shower and then you’re going to feed me. Take me out for something delicious that I can’t get in Ohio or New York. We’re not talking boy troubles because tomorrow is Nationals and just no. Now point me in the direction of your bathroom.” 

  


Mercedes laughs and points towards the bathroom calling out after him, “Don’t think you’re getting through this whole trip not talking about him!” 

  


********************

Mercedes ends up taking him to In-and-Out for burgers, and though he was skeptical about ordering anything called “Animal Style”, one bite and he starts trying to figure out if it’s possible for her to send Animal Fries to him in New York via UPS.

  


“If I leave LA, I have to give this up,” Mercedes sighs, taking a bite of her Double Double.

  
  
“That is true. And you do have a nice place, for it to be so cheap. We’re paying twice what you pay for a front row seat to drug deals, and I swear, I was on my way home from class and I think I saw a guy pick up a hooker. And we have no walls,” Kurt complains popping a fry in his mouth.

  


“How is that? Living with those two without a wall to bang your head on?” 

  


“Much better now that Rachel is single. Even with Ambien, ear plugs and a white noise machine, I could still hear her dying animal sounds when Brody was living there, and did I mention the week he walked around naked? And sat his naked ass on my furniture.” 

  


Mercedes shakes her head, “I don’t know how you put up with that.”

  


“Like i said, Ambien,” Kurt laughs, “I wish you could have come visit us sometime though. You were always welcome.” 

  


“I do too, I was so busy in the studio, but I have lots of time now, so who knows, maybe I’ll end up in New York myself,” Mercedes sighs sadly.

  


Kurt reaches over and takes her hand, “You’ll figure it out, honey, I promise you. And I’ll help you. But if you did end up in New York, that would be fantastic, we would run that city with our impeccable style.” 

  


“Damn right we would.” 

  


*************************

They woke up early the next day, and met up with their friends in New Directions (and surprisingly, Cooper)  for breakfast near their hotel, before loading up a bus (or Mercedes’ car) in their case to head to Nationals, which was on the other side of town. (leave it to Mr. Schue to not try to book a hotel that made logistical sense) 

  


Sitting with Cooper during the competition was more entertaining that Kurt expected it to be, when he wasn’t telling him and Mercedes stories about his adventures in commercial acting, and sneaking into a few events and auditioning for the Groundlings, he was making fun of the names of the other Glee Clubs.  Kurt was especially thankful that Cooper didn’t ask him about his feelings for Blaine, but he’s pretty sure it’s because Cooper was too busy trying to flirt with Mercedes and they were definitely going to be talking about that later on. 

  
  
As expected, the Glee Club performance was perfect. Tina got the first solo, and Kurt and Mercedes were both so happy to see her finally get a chance to shine. Artie, Sam and Blaine shared vocals on their second song, and their third and final song was from the newer members and looked to be a goodbye song sung to the seniors. Kurt and Mercedes were both a mess by the time it was over, but the big surprise was Cooper, who excused himself as soon as New Directions was finished. 

  


They won. Of course they won, it was never in doubt. 

  


They hit the town to celebrate that night, Cooper taking them out to eat before taking them back to his apartment to hang out. It was a nice, relaxing fun night, and Kurt really enjoyed hanging out with everyone, and spending time with Blaine. He felt a little guilty at first, since the point of his visit was to spend time with Mercedes, but when he saw her with Sam, he knew she would understand. So when Blaine asked him to come out to the patio, he didn’t turn him down. 

  


He realized he would have a lot to think about before he got back to Ohio, and he would definitely be taking Mercedes up on her offer to talk about it. He hadn’t talked to anyone about his feelings for Blaine in a long time, and he knew Mercedes would be the best person, she and Blaine were friends, but they weren’t close, and Rachel, as much as she meant well, had wanted Kurt to handle their break up the way she handled hers with Finn. Mercedes had always been a good listener and not afraid to tell him the absolute truth. 

  


**************************

The next day, they’re both a little quiet, and contemplative, and they decide that what they need is a day at the beach. They pack up a picnic, stop at CVS to get Kurt’s sunblock and drive to Malibu where they find a nice secluded area at a state beach where they can lay out on their blankets and just be. Kurt pulls out his umbrella unrolls his towel and lays down with a Vogue, while Mercedes pulls out her ipod and hums along with her music quietly. 

  


But Kurt can’t relax, he’s still too on edge from the party last night and after his third audible sigh, Mercedes yanks her earbuds out of her ears and turns to face him.

  


“Okay, speak. Because these are noise cancelling and yet you are still drowning out my music.” 

  


Kurt sighs again before rolling over to face Mercedes and leaning up on his elbow.

  


“I kissed Blaine last night.” 

  


“Not that I’m surprised, because I’m not, but what’s the big deal? That’s tame for you two.” 

  


“The difference is that, this wasn’t about hooking up. I said I wasn’t going to do that with him anymore and I meant it. This was more, it was, he got into NYADA. He’ll be in New York at the end of July.”

  


“And that changes things? Wasn’t that always the plan? What’s suddenly different?” 

  


“Because we’ll be in the same place. I won’t have to worry that if i miss another phone call, he’ll run off to the first warm body he encounters.” 

  


Mercedes sits up, “Was that really the problem? You being worried that he’ll do it again? Because I can tell you that I honestly don’t think he would. He’s not Puck. He didn’t do that just to get off. I think you know that.” 

  


Kurt sighs again, “Do I though?”

  


“I think you do.” 

  


Kurt rolls over onto his back and throws his arm over his eyes, letting out a harsh breath, “Is it normal to be this scared, like all the time? I’m scared of what will happen if we get back together, I’m scared of what will happen if we don’t. I thought the fear was mostly about my Dad, and part of it was, but I think I’m scared of Blaine. Or because of him.” 

  


“Boo, you’re not scared of Blaine, you’re scared of yourself. You’re scared because you still love him even after what he did. Because he makes you question everything you thought you knew about yourself.” 

  


Kurt sits up and turns to face Mercedes and watches her closesly.

“You talked to Sam last night,” It’s not a question, he saw them talking, but was so caught up in his own feelings that he forgot to ask her about it.

  


“I did,” she answers quietly, looking down and playing with the sand.

  


“And?” 

  


“And, he really liked Brittany. Said he’d had a feeling that she loved Santana more. He’s sad. He’s going to New York, getting a place with Blaine, and Artie.”

  


“You guys didn’t talk about what happened between you?” 

“There wasn’t anything to talk about, we didn’t have a huge fight and break up, we didn’t really get a chance to be anything, really. The timing wasn’t right.” 

  


“But he’s going to New York and you might be going to New York,” Kurt says hopefully.

  


Kurt sighs, “Why is this so hard? I thought it would be all rising music and romantic declarations, and fingertips brushing. Young me was so naive.” 

  


“You gotta take the good with the bad. Because when it’s good, it’s pretty damn good, isn’t it?”

  


Kurt smiles fondly, “It really, really is.” 

  


Mercedes grabs a bottle of water out of their bag, opening it up and taking a drink before turning back to Kurt, “How was the kiss?” 

  


Kurt blushes, “Perfect. As always. Still takes my breath away. So what do I do?” 

  


“Let yourself be happy,” Mercedes answers simply.

  


*****************************

Once the sun starts to go down, and Kurt’s considerably more freckled, he and Mercedes leave and stop and a grocery store before going home and making dinner together, neither wanting to think about or discuss their ex-boyfriends that are now on their way back to Ohio. 

  


When they sit down for dinner, they finally decide to discuss the topic that brought Kurt to LA in the first place.

  


“So, what are you going to do? Your options are, stay here, go back home and enroll in Lima U, or come to New York,” Kurt lists, ticking the items off on his fingers.

  


“My brother also suggested I come down to Atlanta with him.”

“Okay, or Atlanta with Tre, how is he by the way?” 

  


“He’s good, he loves it there, so he’s looking for jobs, planning to stay when he finishes school. Okay, first, we can put Lima U on the bottom of the list,” Mercedes says before taking her first bite. 

  


“Okay, no Lima U, I don’t blame you. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Finn was majoring in Keggers with a minor in Hangover Management. So that leaves LA or New York. The Eternal struggle,” Kurt says, taking a bite. 

  


Mercedes nods, swallowing before she answers.

  


“I really do like it here, but I think I’ve done all I can do. I don’t think I’ll be able to find another deal very quickly, and the club scene here relies more on DJs than live music.” 

  


“Strike against LA. Okay, what about New York? Performance opportunities are plentiful, but there are just as many people trying to do the same thing you are. But, you won’t be alone there. You could take extension classes at NYADA like Santana is, you could try to talk Tina out of Veterinary school and get a place with her.” 

  


Mercedes stops eating, looking thoughtful. 

  


“You know you don’t have decide anything right now, right? You have until your lease is up in August, you can go home and stay with your parents for awhile, you can come stay with us. You have all summer to really decide what you want to do. At least you know that when you get there, you have options, and won’t have to live in a hotel for two weeks, like I did.” 

  


“I know. I just really hate not knowing, that’s the worst part.” 

  


“You’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.” Kurt takes Mercedes’ hand in his.

  


“You know, the same could be said for you and Blaine. You don’t have to decide anything now. You two will figure it out. I think you just need some time to just be.”

  


Mercedes doesn’t decide anything while Kurt’s in LA that week. They go shopping, spend more time at the beach, they even have lunch with Cooper after running into him on Melrose.  Kurt goes back to Ohio a few weeks later, feeling relaxed, calm and hopeful, not just for his future, but for the future of his friends. 

  


When he gets the call from Mercedes a month later, he’s not surprised to hear that she decided on New York. 


End file.
